Every she-wolf dreamed of this moment-the sacred bond igniting, a touch of skin, a meeting of eyes. It was supposed to be beautiful. Life-changing. A gift from the Moon Goddess herself.
But Raya had never felt more afraid.
Not because she doubted the mate bond-but because she doubted herself.
She wasn't like the other girls. While they shimmered in silks and lace, she wore plain linen. Her skin bore the faint scars of past punishments from her strict training. Her wolf had not yet shown itself. Many wolves had turned since they were thirteen, but Raya was eighteen today and she still hadn't shifted.
And there were whispers-always whispers.
"Too quiet."
"Too strange."
"She was said to be the cause of her parents death, did you hear?"
Raya tried not to listen. She focused instead on the white flame dancing in the ritual bowl beside her, its heat soothing. She had waited her whole life for this moment. If the Moon Goddess deemed her worthy, tonight would be her salvation.
Across the clearing, the crowd began to stir. A new presence entered the circle-slow, commanding, impossible to ignore.
Alpha Khan Blackthorn.
The youngest Alpha in Bloodfang history, Khan was a legend in flesh. Towering, dark-haired, carved like a warrior god, he radiated power and authority. Wolves parted as he walked, heads bowing instinctively. No one disobeyed Alpha Khan-not unless they had a death wish.
Raya's breath caught.
Her heart screamed and then stilled.
The bond snapped into place with a thunderous surge.
It felt like lightning had struck her-pure, radiant, terrifying. Her soul surged toward his, and her body responded like a magnet pulled to its opposite. Something stirred inside her rising with a cry of longing.
She knew immediately.
Her knees almost buckled as the full weight of the bond settled over her.
Khan froze mid-step.
He turned.
His golden eyes locked with hers across the ring. The air thickened. For a moment, time stood still.
Everyone in the pack felt it.
The mate bond had awakened.
Gasps echoed.
"Raya? The Alpha's mate?"
"No... that can't be right."
She took a shaky step forward, heart in her throat. The Moon Goddess has finally deemed her worthy. She would be redeemed. She was ready. She was waiting.
Khan's gaze narrowed. His jaw clenched.
He didn't move to meet her.
Instead, he slowly-deliberately-turned away.
"No."
One word. One breath. It sucked the air out of her lungs.
"No?" she echoed, barely audible.
Khan faced the crowd, voice rising like a whip across the gathering.
"This is a mistake," he said coldly. "The Goddess does not make imperfect matches-but this is not fate. This is a flaw in the bond. The Goddess has made a mistake."
A stunned silence fell.
Raya stepped forward. "Alpha Khan-"
He cut her off without turning.
"I, Alpha Khan of Bloodfang, reject this bond. I do not claim this mate."
Pain seared through her chest like a blade. The bond screamed in protest. She could feel the sharp intense pain as the bond severed.
Gasps turned to murmurs.
"Rejection..."
"But in front of everyone?"
"She'll never recover."
Raya's legs gave out. She crumpled to the cold stone, gasping as agony licked up her spine. It wasn't just emotional. The rejection burned through every nerve, every cell, branding her with the shame of being unwanted.
She heard her name whispered. Then snickered.
"Not even the Alpha would take her."
She couldn't breathe. She couldn't think.
And then-she heard something else.
A voice.
Not her wolf. Not her own thoughts.
Something older. Deeper. A rumble in her bones.
"You've finally cracked enough for me to breathe, I accept you."
The voice was silk and smoke. It slithered into her mind, wrapping around her broken soul like a lover's hand.
"You are mine now, little flame."
She felt her world tilting as she screamed.
Somewhere far off, Khan turned toward her again.
The ceremonial flame turned black.
Raya's eyes rolled back. Her mouth opened in a soundless cry as her body convulsed on the stone floor. Her skin darkened with twisting shadows. Her fingernails elongated into claws.
The earth trembled.
The flame exploded.
Screams erupted from the pack as shadows whipped outward in jagged waves. Wolves staggered back, shielding their eyes. Some ran. Others drew weapons.
Raya's body lifted into the air-levitating, wreathed in smoke.
And then the darkness erupted from her in a roar of pure, ancient power.
She didn't remember what came next.
Didn't remember the screams. The tearing. The blood.
Didn't remember the elders collapsing. Warriors turned to pulp. Fire racing through the grass.
Didn't remember her own voice echoing in two different tones-one hers, one monstrous.
Didn't remember the slaughter.
All she knew was the cold stone beneath her back when she awoke.
She opened her eyes to the morning sun.
Smoke still curled in the air.
She sat up-and froze.
Bodies all around her. Dozens of them.
The ceremonial ring was stained with blood. Elders. Warriors. Even the priestess of the Moon Flame.
All dead.
Raya stared in horror.
Her hands were coated in crimson. Her nails, stained with blood and bits of flesh. Her dress was soaked and her arms ached.
She let out a strangled sob. Her breath came fast.
"No... no, no..."
She heard footsteps approaching. She turned to see Alpha Khan.
He stood over her, flanked by warriors, eyes shadowed with something unreadable.
"You did this."
"I didn't... I don't remember-"
"You slaughtered your kin, Raya." His voice was ice. "You are no longer one of us."
"Please... I didn't want this-"
Khan's gaze didn't soften. "You are hereby banished from the Bloodfang Pack. If you are sighted near the border you will be killed on sight."
Her heart cracked, she whimpered.
The warriors closed in.
"Take her beyond the border. Leave her with nothing."
Khan turned his back.
As Raya was dragged away, a voice in her head purred softly. "Now we begin."